The Few Days Before Christmas

Here are some pictures of a few of things we participated in prior to Christmas Eve. 

 

I was the parent volunteer assigned on Polar Express Day on the 21st at Wes' school so I was in charge of taking pictures of the three classes.

The kids got tickets that they had punched and then they watched a reading of the Polar Express and then they received bells straight from the North Pole (they were still cold even)!

The kids then went back to their individual classrooms and had hot chocolate and doughnuts. Wes' Christmas party was the next day, but he woke up sick so he had to miss it.

Lydia and Sydney helped Grandma Swensen make pink pudding for dinner on the 22nd.

On the 23rd, I organized a Polar Express Movie Night since it's probably my favorite Christmas movie. I made super rich hot chocolate and white hot chocolate. We had the kids get in their PJs and watch the first part of the movie until after the "hot chocolate" song and then we paused it to drink our own hot chocolate with marshmallows, whipped cream, and candy canes.

After hot chocolate, we went back to watching the movie. This was a pretty intense part, obviously. :)

I had to get a picture of my boy cuddling with me during the movie since he still will on occasion! Wes was sick for most of the Christmas events, which is actually a bit nice since he's usually more calm and cuddly. :)

A Very Pinterest Christmas!

This year I was feeling very crafty at Christmas. Actually, most years I really like crafting, but now, thanks to Pinterest, I have a plethora of great handmade gift ideas. So, I cut, sewed, sawed, glued, printed, or painted a gift for everyone on my Christmas list (except, I technically owe Brooklyn a crafted gift since I ran out of time with hers). 

I actually had a lot of fun doing all of these projects and was really excited to give these gifts this year. I hope I can find the energy and some more fun ideas to make next year!

This was intended to be a felt "play tree" (like the one here) for the kids (and potentially other related kids), but I ended up making mine too fancy looking for the kids to be attracted to, I think. Maybe I'll give it another go next year and make a different one for the kids (because I actually really like how mine turned out).

For my 14-year-old nephew, I got a picture of him shooting a three from my sister and put this quote on it using PicMonkey, then had it printed and then I framed it. He seemed to like it.

I bought the stuff for these stretchy bands last year for Sydney, but didn't get a chance to finish them so I sewed them together this year and gave them to her. I think I need to adjust them to make them bigger now that she's taller than a year ago.

I also started this t-shirt cape last year for Wes and didn't get a chance to finish it. I had the uncut t-shirt with the freezer paper stenciling all done, I just had to cut it out and sew on the Velcro which made for a quick and easy gift this year.

Mrs. Claus saw an idea similar to this on Pinterest, but she doesn't pin ideas that she knows she can remember so there isn't a link. However, this is how she wrapped Wes and Sydney's present from Santa.

I made this for my 9-year-old niece based on this idea. I just found a silhouette of the castle I liked, printed it backward on the opposite side of a piece of scrapbook paper, cut it out with an exacto knife (very carefully), then glued it to a 12x12 sheet of white paper and put it in a frame. This is probably one of my favorite gifts I made.

This was a combo of ideas that I made for my 6-year-old and 8-year-old nephews. After seeing how many times Wes wanted me to print this Lego guy, I thought it'd be fun to have one to change up over and over. So, I printed some different boyish pictures on half sheets and then put Contact paper over them.

Then I hooked them together with binder rings. They can be used as play dough mats or they can be used with dry erase markers.

This ABC church quiet book was actually printed in mass for our Relief Society craft night so I don't have a link to those pictures, but I put it together for my two under-two nieces (and one for my future baby). I also printed these Noah's Ark felt characters for one niece and I cut out some felt ice cream and cupcakes like these for two other nieces. These felt things stick to the fabric part on the backs of the pews at church. Tip: a coupon sorter is a great way to keep the felt pieces together and cart them around. Also, if you print on felt using iron-on transfers (like the Noah animals), they won't stick to each other.

I made these Santa ornaments as a hostess gift for Brian's sister, Janna and family and for Brian's Hanks grandparents for hosting us at Thanksgiving. I also made one for my Swensen grandparents who we also saw at Thanksgiving. I only broke one ball in the process of making them. For those interested in making these in the future, I found the best success with hand-painting using acrylic paint (can be found at Wal-Mart), which is not what the original post says to do. Also, I wrapped the red pieces of paper, cut the long way, over a pencil then stuff them in the top.

Once I got my measurements right, this double circle skirt was super easy to make and I think it turned out really cute! The hardest thing was actually finding a knit fabric that I liked for my almost 6-year-old niece. This project took me less than an hour (not including fabric shopping). :)

Again, these baby leg warmers were super easy. This project took me maybe 20 minutes to finish. I did get to see these modeled on the recipient - my 1-year-old niece - and they looked pretty cute! I need to get a bunch more of these made before my baby comes to give as gifts in the coming year.

The adults in my family did stocking stuffers for each other so I made these beach-themed desktop Zen gardens (based on this idea) for the men in the family. Instead of using a frame (because I couldn't find one small enough to fit in a stocking yet deep enough to work) I made mine out of craft wood that I cut and nailed together, then attached a 4x4 craft mirror to the bottom with hot glue. Then I sealed it up with hot glue and painted it blue. I made the rake using this concept but extended the handle a bit.

For my 12-year-old nephew, I made these "Devil Sticks" (aka juggling sticks) with Brian's assistance. Brian played with them for a while to make sure they would actually work (since he was a bit of a pro at them in his younger days) and then performed a demonstration on Christmas morning. They seemed to be a hit with both of my older nephews.

For the stockings of the women in my family, I made this little 5x5 framed picture since birds and family history remind me of my mom, and thus, my sisters. It says, "Like branches on a tree we grow in different directions, yet our roots remain as one."